Battery testing instrument



Nov. 15, 1932. L. MYERS BATTERY TESTING INSTRUMENT 5 sheets-sheet 1 Filed Aug. 27, 1928 ...LA A

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L. MYERS BATTERY TESTING INSTRUMENT Filed Aug. 27, 1928 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

cadr/:Ce j( ers 24 BY 60M, 33 ATTORNEYS.

Nov. 15, 1932. L. MYERS 1,887,656

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5 Sheets-Sheet 4 L, MYERS BATTERY TESTING INSTRUMENT Filed Aug. 27, 1928 Nov. 15,1932.

INVENTOR. [aq/rence jt-(yefs BYWZcA/w/ Wl 5% @n/f M ATTORNEY.

Nov. 15, 1932. T L, M'YES 1,887,656

BATTERY TESTI/NG INSTRUMENT Filed Aug. 27, 1928 5 sham-sheet 5 INVENTOR.

A TTORNEYS.

Patented Nov. 15, 1932 UNITED STATES LAWRENCE MYERS, OF-CHICAGO, ILLINOIS BATTERY TESTING INSTRUMENT Application led August 27, 1928. Serial No. 302,386.

My invention relates to a device for indicating at some remote place the height of an electrolyte in an electrical cell and the electrical charge or electrochemical condition of that cell and more specilically to ob-v taining an indication on the dashboard of an automotive. vehicle oi the electrolyte level and the charge of any one of the individual cells of a storage battery composed of a plurality of seriesI connected cells.

One of the objects of my invention is to provide a selective switch to test all cells individually for bot-h electrolyte level and charge and by which an open circuit may be maintained except at actual times of test.

Another object is to provide a double wound ammeter which will give readings both of electrolyte level and of charge on the same dial.

easily attachable electrode and one which may be used in indicating not only the presence of the electrolyte above the plates of the battery cell but also lthe depth of the electrolyte above the plates.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will appear more fully from the tol. lowing description and accompanying draw iugs,1n which similar characters of reference indicate similar parts throughout the several views.

In the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a medial vertical cross section of my improved testing instrument comprising a selective switch, an'uneter indicator dial, electric lamp, and including casing for same, taken on the line 1-1 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the instrument;

Fig. 3 is a cross sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1 and looking toward the rear;

Fig. 4 is a cross sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 1 and looking toward the front;

Fig. 5 is a cross sectional view taken on the line 5--5 of Fig. 1 and looking toward the front;

w Fig. 6 is a transverse sectional view show- Another object is to provide a cheap and ing the ammeter windings and taken on the line 6--6 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 7 is a cross sectional view showing the upper portion of astorage cell, the electrode being shown in quarter section as substituted l?" for the usual filling plug;

Fig. 8 is a plan of the clamp for fastening the wires to the intermediate straps of the storage battery;

Fig. 9 is a cross sectional view of the same taken through the line 9-9 of Fig. 8; and

F'g. 10 is a schematic diagram showingr the wiring, connections, contacts and otherelectrical parts.

ln general my invention comprises a selective switch, by means of which a closed circuit may be established between the poles of any desired cell of a multicell storage battery through one winding of a double wound galvanometer or ammeter to indicate the dcgree of charge or voltage of that cell.

The aforementioned selective switch may also be used to complete a circuit between an improved electrode substituted for the usual filling plug and the opposed pole of the next adjoining cell through the other winding of the aforementioned ammeter to indicate the helilght of the electrolyte in any one of the ce s.

The electrode of my invention is so constructed, as will appear more fully hereinafter, that any slight variation in height of the electrolyte will cause a wide variation in the area of the electrode in contact with the liquid. In this way a variable resistance is provided in this circuit which will provide an indicator reading of the af(rementioned nannneter varying inversely with this` resist ance and thus varying directly with the height of the electrolyte.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, the instrument proper of my invention is enclosed within a cup-shaped casing comprising a cylindrical wall 12 formed integrally with a face 14- and secured to a hack plate 16 by screws 17. The parts 12 and 14 may be drawn from suitablel sheet metal or molded from a phenol condcnsation product or other suitable material. Partitions 18 and 20 are carried by the back plate 16, being secured thereto by screws 22 and spaced therefrom by suitable tubular separators 24 and 26.

A glass plate 28 is secured beneath a crescent-shaped opening formed in the face 14 and. a celluloid sheet 30 is mounted over a suitable opening formed in the partition 18. The sheet 30 has an arcuate slot 32 formed therein to permit. passage therethrough of an indicating needle 34 which'is adapted to register with the indicia Rell, Half, Full, and Discharge, Half, Full, marked upon the sheet 30 and forming dials 36 and 38, respectively. The dial 40 is also marked upon the sheet v30 to register the position of the selecting switch as will hereinafter more fully appear.

The instrument as a whole may be attached to the instrument board ot an automotive vei hicle by means of brackets 31. Screws 33,

`Lhreaded in the brackets 31 and lock nuts .55, provide convenient adjustable means to attach the instrument to either metal or wood instrument boards.

The selecting switch comprises a stationary Insulating block 42 secured by screws 44 to the back plate 16. Diametrically opposed pairs of contact points 46 and 48 and a central contact point 50 are imbedded in the block 42.

Each pair of contact points 46 and 48 is adapted selectively to make contact with suitable contact points 52, 53 and 54, 55, respectively, carried in a movable insulating block 56. A central Contact point 58 in the block 56 is adapted to contact with the point 50. 'ihe insulating blocks 42 and 56 are normally separated so that all contacts are open. The movable block 56 is carried by a shaft 59 which is rotatable and longitudinally movaile in the casing, being journaled in suitable holes formed in the face 14 and partition plates 18 and 20 and in bearing boxes 61 and 63 attached to said plates.

A handle knob 60 which is rigidly secured ft the outer end of the shaft 59 is provided for manipulation of the movable block 56 which is preferably threaded to the inner end of said shaft. A pointer 62 cooperating with the dial 40 passes through a slot 64 formed 1ietween the lower edge of the sheet 30 and the upper edge of the partitlon 18 and is adapted to register with the dial 40. The pointer 62 is rigidly' secured to the shaft 59 between a pair of collars 66 and 68 which may be pinned to the shaft 59.

A spiral spring 70 has one end anchored togthe partition 20 by a pin 72 and its inner eiidfse'c'ured to the collar 68.- This spring Will tend'y always'to return the shaft 59 to normal positionpthat is, the position in which the pointer 62 is in the vertical or off position.

. A suitable concave split spring washer 74 is compressed between the partition 2O and the collar 6 8, tending normally to urge the shaft such herein. It comprises windings and 82 surrounding an arcuate plunger 84 (Fig.

5) which may be formed integrally with the indicating needle 34 (Fig. 1) and journaled upon a piny 86 suitably fixed to the partition A hair spring 88 acts in the usual manner to resist displacement of the plunger 84 by the electromagnetic forces induced by passage of an electric current through windings 80 and 82 and to return the plunger to normal position where it is arrested by a stop 89 punched from the partition 20. The ends of the windings 80 and 82 are attached to insulated connectors 90, 92, 94, 96 and 98 carried in the portion 'l' 6 of the partition 20 (Fig. 4). The end connectors 90 and 98 are connected by a resistance wire 100 which serves as a means to reduce the current flow through the winding 80 sufliciently to prevent overheating thereof. As best shown in Fig. 4, the connectors 92, 94, 96 and 98 are connected by flexible conductors or leads 102, 104, 106 and 108 to the contact points 54, 52, 55 and 53, respectively, mounted upon the movablel block 56. A flexible Wire 107 connects the central contact 58 of the movable block with a socket 112 adapted to receive an electric lamp 114. The socket 112 is carried by a conducting bracket 116 secured to the back plate 16.

The bracket 116 is connected to a binding post D secured to the back plate 16. Other binding posts A, B, C, E, F and G are connected by suitable leads 118 to the stationary contact points 46, 48 and 50, as shown in Fig. 3.

The battery to be tested is connected to the binding posts A to G by suitable conductors 120 which lead from the various terminals of the battery land from electrodes substituted for the filling plugs of the battery, as indicated in Fig. 10, as will be more fully described hereinafter. For convenience the various points of connection on the battery have been indicated by the prime of the letter of the binding post to which they are connected; i. e., the binding post G is connected to the electrode G', the binding post F is connected to the electrode F', etc., and the contact points by their reference character with the letter of the binding post to which the contact is connected.

Each of the electrodes is supported by a plug 122 of suitable insulating material which is threaded so as to be adapted to be screwed into the usual filling aperture of a storage battery cell. The electrode comprises an electrode element'124 which 'has a stem 126 preferably molded within the plug 122 and tapped to receive a stud 128 to which the wire 120 may be secured by a nut 130.

The electrode element 124 is adaptedl to project into the electrolyte 132 within the cell ofthe battery to approximately the level of the tops of separators 134 for the battery plates 136. The element 124 has a central downwardly projecting portion 138 and two concentric hollow cylindrical skirt portions 140 and 142 of graduated length. Suitable gas relief openings 144 are formed in the cylindrical portions 140 and 142 to permit the gas to escape from the spacing between the skirt portions through an opening 146 formed in the electrode element 124. The opening 146 is in registry with a drilled air vent passageway 148 formed in thev plug 122.

The binding posts B and C are connected to straps B and C by clamps 150 shown in Figs. 8 and 9. These clamps are preferably made of lead coated metal and are substantially U-shaped to fit over the narrow porpoles of the battery cells and to the above A described electrodes, as indicated in Fig. 10,

. with the marking the device will operate as follows:

Assume first that it is desired to determine the height of the electrolyte in cell No. 1.y The knob 60 will be rotated to the left fromy the olf position until its pointer 62 registers U No 1 c'ell and pushed 'nwardly. A circuit .will thus be established from the strap B', binding post B, contact 48-B, contact 54, flexible lead 102, through the winding 82 of the ammeter, flexible lead 106, contact point- 55, contact point 48-G,

binding post G, to the electrode G.

(It will be understood that whereas the switch is rotatable to select the desired contact points, Fig. 10, for clearness, diagrammatically illustrates the switch as horizontally slidable.)4

The current generated in cell No. 2 will thus flow through the circuit above traced, and the strength of the current will depend upon the depth of the electrolyte in cell No. 1. Since as the depth of the electrolyte above Lhe plate separators 134 is lowered, the area of contact between the electrolyte and the 'electrode element 124 will decrease, thereby increasing the contact resistance between the electrode element and electrolyte in inverse proportion.

The surface area of electrode element 124 is such that the current flow through the electrode is substantially directly proportional to the depth of the electrolyte above the separator plates, and increments in electrolyte height will cause corresponding increments in the indication made by the needle 34.

Upon operating the switch, as above described, the ammeter will register the amount of electrolyte in cell No. 1 b indicating whether it is Full, Half full or whether the battery should be supplied with additional distilled water, i. e., Refll.

The depth of the electrolyte in cell No. 2 may be determined in a similar manner by turning the knob 60 further counterclockwise so that the pointer 62 is in registry with the indicia No 2 cell. yWhen the switch is thus positioned and pushed inwardly the winding'82 of the ammeter is connected between the electrode F and the pole D', the charge in cell No. 1 being utilized to cause current flow. In a similar manner the depth of the electrolyte in cell No. 3 is determined by connecting the ammeter across the electrode E and the strap C', in which instance the charge in cell No. 2 is utilized to actuate the ammeter.

Each time the knob 62 is pushed inwardly the contact 58 engages the contact 50- thereby completing a circuit from the posi tive pole A' of the battery, through binding post A. contact 50-A, contact 58, flexible lead 107, electric lamp 114, binding post D, to the negative pole of the battery D. The lamp 114 thus illuminates the dials 36, 38 and 40 since the sheet- 30 is of translucent material, making the indication of the indicator needle 34 and pointer 62 readily discernible. Upon release of they handle knob the above described circuits are automaticall broken since the handle is pushed outwardly by the spring 74, and the pointer 62 returned to normal oli position by the spring 70.

When it is desired to determlne the charge of a cell of the battery, the knob is turned to vthe right until the pointer 62 is in registry with the indicia for the cell desired to be tested and the handle pushed inwardly to complete the circuit. Assuming that cell No.A

1 is to be tested the knob is rotated to No 1 cell and pushed inwardly, thereby completing a circuit from the pole D', through binding post D, contact 46-D, contact 52, flexible lead 108, resistance 100, winding 80, flexible lead 104, contact 53, contact iti-C, binding post C, to the strap C' which is o course connected to the positive pole of cell No. 1.

In a manner similar to that above described the charges in the cells Nos. 2 and 3, may readily be determined, the ammeter winding 80 being of course connected across the`poles of thel cell to be tested by actuation of the in each of the individual cells of the battery switch. to be tested, a selective manually operable From the above description of my invenswitch arranged to connect a pair` of said contion, it will be seen that I have provided an tact points to one of the windings of said extremely simple instrument capable of perammeter to indicate the degree of charge of forming a large number of testing operaone of the cells on said d1al scale' and to contions. The instrument may readily be utilnect another pair to the other w1nd1n of said ized on any automotive vehicle, motor-boat ammeter to indicatethe electrolyte epth in or in fact any place where a storage battery said cell, and a pointer connected to sald is used and kept in a comparatively inacsw1tch to indicate the scale to be read. cessible place, to determine exactly the conf 4. In a storage battery testing instrument, dition of each individual cell of the battery. the combination of a multicell series connect- As previously stated, the electrode may be ed StOI'nge battery, an ammeter, an electrode substituted for the usual filling opening plug i mounted in the llmg openings of each of the so that no changes in the battery need be cells of said battery and depending to submade, Since all 0f the Contacts 0f the switch Stantlllly the leVel Of the tops Of the plates Of are normally open the vtesting instrument the cell, said electrode being shaped to have a doeg not utilize current except, when Operrelatlvely large Surface area Il COIltaCl With atm-1 the electrolyte when the level of the electro- Through the use of the instrument of my lyt@ iS high and il dSpIOpOItOIlately Small invention the @are 0f a Storage battery is surface area in contact with the electrolyte great-1y S0 that the Ordinary lay- When the 'QlGClIOlye lQYel 1S 10W, and meaIlS man may keep the battery in proper condi. for selectively connecting any one of said tion. It is of course a well-known fact that electmdjs and an OPPOSIS E018 0f anadwnt a battery which is at all times kept properly C6511 t9 Sald ammeter, there y to obtain an in- Charged and in which the electrolyte is mnjn dication by'said ammeter of the height of the tained at the proper level will have a useful electrolyte 11.1 the Celllife many times longer than that of a similar In Wltnes? whereof, I hereunto Subscribe battery which is given only superlicial atmy nam@ thls 25th da? 0f Augusta 1928 tention such as is usually bestowed upon it v LAWRENCE MYERS. by the ordinary automobile owner.

The invention is capable of wide variation within equivalent limits and I contemplate such variation as may be desirable or useful in the particular adaptation of the invention shown, or in its adaptation to other devices. I do not restrict my self in any unessential particulars, but what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. In a battery testing device, the combination of a multicell storage battery, an electrode depending into each of the cells of said battery, an ammeter,- open circuits between each of said electrodes, the opposite pole of the cell adjacent the onel containing the electrode. and said ammeter, and switch means selectively to elo-se said circuits. n

2. In an instrument of the class described, the combination of a series connected multicell storage battery, an electrode threaded into the filling opening of each'cell of said battery and projecting downwardly substantially to the level of the tops of the separator plates of the cell, an electrical current flow indicator, and selective switch means to connect said indicator between the electrodes of one of said cells and the opposed pole of the next adjacent cell.

3. In a testing instrument for multicell storage batteries having an electrolyte, the combination of a double wound ammeter having ran indicating needle, charge and electrolyte level dial scales cooperating with said needle, pairs of contact points adapted to be connected to the poles and to the electrolyte 

